Brush holder and shaper



Aug. 2, 1960 Filed Dec. 18, 1956 E. S. TUPPER BRUSH HOLDER AND SHAPER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 5mm. 8. T ER INVENTOR.

xrraz/rir Aug. 2, 1960 E. S. TUPPER BRUSH HOLDER AND SHAPER Filed Dec.18. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 EARL S-TUPPEE INVENTOR D I A BRUSH HOLDER ANDSHAPER Earl S. Tupper, Esmond, R.I., assignor to Tupper Corporation,North Smithfield, R.I., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 18, 1956,Ser. No. 629,154 3 Claims. 01. 206 -151 brush holder-and shaper which isformed of flexible and deformable plastic material such as polyethyleneor other substance having similar physical and inert properties topermit the easy insertion of the toothbrush tbereinto .yet sufiicientlyrigid as to draw inwardly the brush bristles from the sides of the brushand maintain and keep them shaped.

- It is still-another object of the invention to provide a toothbrushholder and shaper that can be easilykept clean and sanitary and which isformed offlexible and deformable plastic material so that the device canbe flexed for exposing the inside thereof without destroying the normalshape of the same to provide access to a cleaning cloth, brush-orothermaterial so that the device may be maintained clean and free ofbacteria.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a brush holderand shaper in which a rigidifying portion .is provided to maintain theshape of the holder interin the holder from the top thereof andrequiring its insertion to be made only from one end thereof.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a brush holder and shaper,having the above objects in mind, which is of simple construction,inexpensive to manufacture, durable, sanitary, of pleasing appearanceand easy to use.

These objects and other incidental ends of the invention willhereinafter appear in the progress of the disclosure and as pointed outin the appended claims.

Accompanying this specification are drawings showing an illustrativeform of the invention wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View looking from the rear end of the holder;

Figure 2 is a perspective view looking from the open front end of theholder illustrating the manner in which the brush head is inserted intothe holder;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the holder with the brush fullyinserted therein;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view of the brush head with thebristles unrestrained, the view being taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2;

2,947,412 Patented Aug. 2, 1960 Figure 5 is a transverse sectional viewtaken through the brush and the holder as viewed on line 5-5 of Figure3;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the holder taken on line 6of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a display rack with several of theholders with toothbrushes assembled therein supported on a rack;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a bathroom rack with one of theholders and a brush supported thereon in a transverselylongitudinalposition; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the holder showing ease of spread bythe fingers from the front end.

Referring now to the drawings, numeral 10 represents generally theholder embodying the features of the invention herein. Holder 10preferably is formed of any inert flexible and deformable plastic suchas polyethylene or other plastic having similar physical properties andmaybe molded or formed by conventional molding and forming techniques.The holder is self-supporting, but the walls may be deflected, andspread without substantially affecting return to the original and normalshape.

Holder 10 has a bottom wall 11 with upstanding side walls 12 and 13diverging upwardly from one another and to aheight to receive andcontain. brush bristles 14 of a brush head 15 extending from a handle16. The upper ends of the side walls 12 and 13 provide respectivelyopposing channel or groove portions 17 and 18 to accommodate, supportand guide the side edges 15a of the brush head 15 when inserted into anend thereof in the manner illustrated in Figure 2. Brush bristles 14will thereby be suspended above bottom Wall 11 so that insertion of thebrush bristles into the holder may be effected smoothly and without anywiping action along said bottom wall. Channel portions 17 and 18 of sidewalls 12 and 13 flex sufliciently to accommodate the width of the brushhead on introduction and oiferssufiicient resistance to the side edges15a of the brush to maintain brush bristles 14 elevated within theholder above bottom wall 11. Side walls 12 and 13, in addition to theformation of opposing channel portions 17 and 18 are further providedwith inwardly directed covering flanges or lips 19 and 20.which runthroughout the length of the holder and which are normally separatedfrom one another but not sufiiciently to permit the insertion of thebrush into the holder from above.

Intermediate the length of holder 10 is a rigidifying element, but asshown includes a port or stem portion 21 for insertion in anopening in arack as will hereinafter appear. The rigidifying element consists of anintegral saddle formation having sides or extensions '22 and 23 thatproceed upwardly from a bottom. transverse reinforcement element 24adisposed on the underside of bottom wall 11. Extensions 22 and 23preferably proceed upwardly along the respective side walls 12 and 13 tosupply a certain amount of reinforcement and rigidity thereto forrendering them less flexible along the intermediate portion and at thesame time not restraining the walls sufiiciently to prevent a finger ora cleaning instrument to still separate the walls for cleaning thebottom 11 of the holder as illustrated in Figure 9. Depending fromtransverse element 24a is the stem portion 21 heretofore mentioned.

In order to give further rigidity to the flexible side walls 12 and 13at one end, a stop wall 24 is provided and extends from the bottom wall11 between the rear ends of said side walls 12 and 13 up to the channelportions 19 and 20. The stop wall 24 maintains the shape of the holder,prevents access to the interior and further serves as a stop forbristles 14.

The brush holder through its hollow post or stem portion 21 may bemounted on a counter display or sale rack 25, Figure 7; by insertingsame into openings 26 in the top of the rack. The individual holder maynot only be inserted in the commercial rack 25but also --may be insertedin a bathroom rack 26 in the samemanner through holes 27 therein and asshown in Figure 8. Of course handle 16 may also be insertedconventionally in holes 27.

It will be observed that the holders of the invention take up littleextra space. When the brushes and the holders are mounted horizontallyin Figure 8, a sliding movement from and into the holder as illustratedin Figures 2 and 8 are all that is necessary for brush use and storage.

As the brush is inserted into the holder, side walls 12 and 13 willexpand slightly so that the side edges 15a of the brush head 15 will beaccommodated in the channel portions 17 and 18. Brush bristles 14 willbe contracted and drawn inwardly and maintained by the side walls 12 and13 in the manner shown in Figure 5. Moreover, the brush is held elevatedin the channel portions 17 and 18 at all times.

Thus, it will be seen that the brush holder is most flexible at thefront end so that brush head may be easily introduced. The brush holder,however, is made more rigid intermediate its length and most rigid atthe rear end thereof to maintain the return shape of the holder afterthe introduction of the brush.

To clean the holder, it is only necessary to spread it from the open endas best seen in Figure 9 whereby the whole interior becomes accessiblefor rinsing, cleaning and scrubbing.

Thus, there has been provided a simple size-accommodating toothbrushholder and shaper wherein the holder is cleanable, may be installed inan ordinary bathroom toothbrush holder rack; wherein the bristles of thetoothbrush are maintained in compressed shape to preserve resiliency,are protected against exposure by a substantial envelope of a materialwhich is resistant to microorganisms and wherein the holder isunbreakable, durable and compact. Moreover, the device is capable ofbeing integrally formed by conventional molding techniques.

Although the drawings and description have stressed one particular typeof brush, namely, a toothbrush, nevertheless, the holder may be used inconjunction with other types of brushes by varying dimensions. In thisconnection, the use of the Word brushes in the claims is to be aninclusive term including toothbrushes and other types of brushes havinga head and depending bristles.

It is understood that minor changes and variations in the location,size, integration, material and proportion of parts may all be resortedto without departing from tllie spirit of the invention and scope of theappended c aims.

I claim:

1. A bristle brush holder and shaper of resilient, flexible anddeformable plastic having a narrow bottom and opposing diverging sidewalls with opposing parallel channel portions on their upper endsadapted to accommodate the side edges of the brush head, the divergingside walls at one end having an erid closure wall, said channel portionsbeing elevated above the bottom wall'a distance greater than the lengthof the brush bristles to maintain the bristles suspended from its headabove the bottom wall of the holder, a rigidifying element on the outerside of the bottom wall and intermediate the length thereof and havingside extensions proceeding over the respective side walls to providefurther rigidity to the side walls intermediate their length. thereofand limiting the flexibility of the side walls at the opening end of theholder yet not suificient to prevent the flexing of the side wallsbeyond the said band when it is desired to forcibly clean the interiorof the holder. V

2. A bristle brush holder and shaper as defined in claim 4 wherein saidrigidifying element is a hollow mounting post portion extendingdownwardly from the bottom wall of the holder.

3. A bristle brush holder and shaper of resilient, flexible anddeformable plastic having a narrow bottom and opposing diverging sidewalls with opposing channel portions on their upper ends adapted toaccommodate the side edges of the brush head, said channel portionsbeing elevated above the bottom wall a distance greater than the lengthof the brush bristles to maintain the bristles suspended from its headabove the bottom of the holder, at rear bridging wall extending betweenthe rear ends of the bottom and side walls to close the end of theholder whereby to provide rigiditybetween the side walls at the rear endof the holder and yet permit resilient free separation of the side wallsat the forward end of the holder to allow for the easy insertion of thebrush head therethrough, opposing parallel lips on the upper ends of thechannel portions normally spaced from one another but insufiiciently topermit insertions of the brush therebetween and thereby confine theinsertion of the brush to the holder through the open end thereof, aninternal saddle formation intermediate the ends of the holder comprisinga hollow post portion extending from said bottom wall and portionsintegral with the side walls forming outwardly projecting ribs.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS573,852 Besson Dec. 29, 1896 1,266,382 Bailey May 14, 1918 2,482,278Koerner Sept. 20, 1949 2,667,395 Ushanofi Jan. 26, 1954

